The present invention relates to fuel dispensers, and in particular to devices for preventing or minimizing damage caused by a breakaway separation.
In recent years self-service fuel pumps at gasoline stations have become the industry standard. The majority of fuel pumps at gasoline stations are self-service as opposed to full-service. Most consumers prefer to pump their own fuel because it costs less than it does to have a gas station employee pump it. However, a consequence of allowing customers to pump their own fuel occurs when a customer forgets to remove the fuel nozzle from a vehicle""s fuel tank inlet before driving away. This situation, which is commonly referred to today as either a xe2x80x9cbreakaway separationxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cdrive offxe2x80x9d, or a xe2x80x9cdrive awayxe2x80x9d can be very dangerous and expensive. A large gas station having four islands of three pumps per island, on average, may experience at least one breakaway separation condition per month.
To address the problem of a drive off, breakaway units have been developed. A breakaway unit enables a fuel hose to be easily and safely severed in the event of a breakaway separation condition. FIG. 13 illustrates the operation of a prior art breakaway unit during a breakaway separation condition. Breakaway unit 304 of fuel hose 307 of pump 301 has broken apart as automobile 308 has driven away with nozzle 309 in its fuel tank inlet. Upper section 305 of breakaway unit 304 remains attached to the section of fuel hose 307 connected to pump 301 and lower section 306 remains attached to the section of fuel hose 307 that is attached to nozzle 309. A valve in upper section 305 closes, thereby preventing spillage of fuel out of the section of the severed fuel hose 307 that is connected to fuel pump 301. A fuel hose breakaway unit is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,471, which is herein incorporated by reference. Regardless of the utilization of breakaway units, breakaway separation conditions are still very costly. A typical repair bill can be on average anywhere from approximately $500 to $1000. The repair can even reach as high as $10,000 or more if there is dispenser damage or a fire occurs as the result of the breakaway separation. If the breakaway separation condition occurs and the gas station employee does not know about it until the driver of the automobile has left the scene, the repair cost will have to be carried by the owners of the gas station. If the driver voluntarily stops or is stopped prior to leaving the scene, his automobile liability insurance can typically be relied upon to cover the cost or repairs. In many cases when a breakaway separation occurs, the driver leaves the gas station before the employee recognizes the damage. The driver may not be aware of the damage, or if he is, he often does not report it. Therefore, usually it is the gas station owner that pays for repairs as the result of a breakaway separation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,062,247, issued to Botkin, discloses a nozzle that has a discharge tube that is attached to the nozzle valve by means of a nut that breaks xe2x80x9cwith a sound that is audible for considerable distancexe2x80x9d. However, there is no explanation in of how the Botkin device would alert a remotely located gas station employee of a breakaway separation condition. For example, it is unlikely that the sound described by Botkin would be loud enough to alert a gas station employee located in an office. Moreover, Applicants are not aware of any current application of the Botkin device.
What is needed is a device for providing ample warning to remotely located gas station employees that a breakaway separation has occurred.
The present invention provides a breakaway separation detection and alerting system. A breakaway fuel hose is connected to a fuel pump. A breakaway unit connects the nozzle hose section and the fuel pump hose section of the breakaway fuel hose together. When the breakaway fuel hose is subject to tension in excess of a predetermined load, the breakaway unit will separate. An alarm activation device will then activate an alarm capable of alerting an individual remotely located from the breakaway fuel hose. In a first preferred embodiment, the at least one alarm is a first alarm and a second alarm. The first alarm is located in proximity to the fuel pump and the second alarm is located remotely where a fueling station employee can monitor it. The first preferred embodiment also has a transmitter and a receiver. When a breakaway separation condition occurs, the first alarm sounds. Also, the transmitter sends a signal to the receiver. The receiver then activates the second alarm, alerting the remotely located fueling station employee.